Food on Hanover Quay

I recently had two meals in two new restaurants on Hanover Quay in Dublin 2. Given that there are a large number of businesses in that area, the number, variety and value of restaurants has never really been adequate.


First up was a lunch for two in Riva Restaurant, which I understand bills itself as organic and Mediterranean. I had a duck, plum, hazelnut and bacon salad which was dressed with a tamarind or hoisin type sauce. I like coming across new salad combinations and this was absolutely delicious. Our other dish of seafood risotto was perfectly cooked with nubbly rice and tasted of the sea. It could have benefited from the texture of some vegetables such as peas or asparagus, but it was still better than a lot of other risottos I've tasted. Riva isn't cheap, our lunch including a bottle of sparkling water and two espressos was around 45 euro but the food was good and I'm looking forward to trying it out for dinner some evening as it does seem to offer good evening value. Service was good with one of the most snake-hipped waiters I've ever seen. Well done Riva, it's not often a restaurant surprises me.

The other new kid on the block is Herbstreet, which has a funky concrete interior complete with orange electrical conduit lighting and comfortable wire mesh chairs. We ordered a hamburger with cheese and saute onions and a hot corned beef sandwich. When the burger came, it was with bacon and onions, but it didn't bother me too much. The bun was an odd kind of yeasty bread which demanded too much chewing. It was clear after a bite or two that the burger was slightly off, as if the meat used to make the burger was slightly old. I left it on the plate. The accompanying shoestring fries were perfect. The hot beef sandwich was stuffed with meat and was very filling and represented good value at 7.50 euro. Two espressos and a diet coke bought the menu to about 25 euro which is good value for a lunch. However, I'll be wary of returning following that burger experience.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

There are some fantastic works of investigative fiction being written in Scandinavian countries these days. Anyone who is a fan of the Kurt Wallander series of books by Henning Mankell will know what I mean. Now we have a new addition to the shelf, courtesy of deceased author, Stieg Larsson.

This is the first volume in the Millenium trilogy and after finishing this first installment, I am very much looking forward to the next two volumes. Larssson, a well respected journalist, died in 2004 soon after delivering the manuscripts for 3 crime novels to his publisher. While we have two more tales to look forward to, it's also a pity to realise that there won't be any more novels coming from the pen of this author.

The tale is split between the shady secrets of a wealthy family and the murky dealings of a famous businessman. Mikael Blomkvist, a recently disgraced journalist, is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his niece almost 40 years ago. Vanger promises Blomkvist the means to clear his good name as part of the payment and Blomkvist accepts. We also meet Lisbeth Salander, a disturbed young woman with a troubled past, but a brilliant investigative mind.

This is an excellent taut thriller, and features several climatic events. The author manages to maintain an excellent pace throughout, but still delivers a strong social lesson while providing the thrills. It is an intelligent thriller with a conscience.

The Pirate's Daughter - Margaret Cezair-Thompson

The pirate of the title refers to Errol Flynn, who finds himself washed up on the shores of Jamaica following a storm. He finds calmness and peace on the charming island, and seeks refuge there from the scandal that follows him in Hollywood. Ida, the daughter of a man who befriends Errol, develops a crush on him and their somewhat odd friendship develops over the years. As Errol lurches from relationship to relationship and scandal to scandal, he regularly returns to the island and renews his friendship with Ida.

Ida grows into a beautiful young woman, and one day the inevitable happens. Ida finds she is pregnant with Flynn's child, but raises it herself, isolated and abandoned by the man she loves. Her family falls on hard times, and she is forced to go abroad to seek work in order to support her beloved daughter, Margaret.

This charming tale follows both the lives of the mother and daughter. Ida never stops being in love with Errol, but fights to protect her child and give her every opportunity. Around them, politics and strife rear their ugly heads as Jamaica gains independence from Britain and racial tensions rise to the surface. Their lives are torn apart and changed forever by the events of one fateful night.

This is a forlorn love story brought vividly to life with enchanting descriptions of the island and rich characters. The span of the tale is thoroughly satisfying and the historical setting adds a menacing overtone to the tale. A page-turning, engrossing, intelligent read.

Ireland at the Olympics

We love a good tryer here in Ireland. The bar for Olympic performance isn't the highest here and we have a tendency to consider it a good day if someone doesn't disgrace themselves or fall flat on their faces. Bearing that in mind, the performances so far from the Irish team at the Olympics have been OK. No medals yet, and let's be honest, it might well stay that way. But on the whole, we have had respectable performances.

We did have the embarassing incident where Irish swimmer Melanie Nocher had to stop dead in the water in her 200m freestyle heat in order to adjust her goggles. Later, the incident was blamed on the fact that the swimmer could not wear the hat supplied to her and to had to wear a different cap. The question needs to be asked why she didn't perform some trial runs with her new gear and make sure that all would be OK. It shows a lack of professionalism. Debacle aside, she did actually swim well, so here's hoping that a valuable lesson has been learned.

The finals of the men's K1 kayak have just finished with heart-breaking news for Ireland. Eoin Rheinisch had struggled to qualify for the semi-finals and then the final, but put in a fantastic paddle in the final. He was in gold position for quite a while, falling to silver and then bronze. However, he lost the bronze on the last paddle of the day. Although we may say that a 4th place finish in an Olympic final is undoubtedly a good showing, it's probably going to feel quite bitter to Eoin right now.


Well done Eoin, you did us proud. You held on in there, despite being 15th in the qualifiers and 10th in the semis. You kept your head, displayed your professionalism and came home 4th in the final. Congratulations!

Female Fantasy Literature

I'm a sucker for a good piece of science-fiction or fantasy literature. Such books may be easily dismissed by literati, but there is no doubt that these genres have produced classics over the years, which transcend genre boundaries and represent fine writing. I recently picked up two fantasy novels by female authors, "Magic Bites" by Ilona Andrews orientated around magical creatures such as werecreatures and vampires and "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" by Jennifer Rardin, set firmly in vampire territory.



I'm going to review both books together for several reasons including the fact that I read them in sequence and for the simple fact that both aroused the same emotions in me.

Firstly, both books are formulaic and derivative. Both feature a strong female lead character who holds a dark past. There is the obligatory strong dark male character who holds an irresistible attraction for the heroine. Yawn! The lead character from Magic Bites is unconcerned with her looks, and makes a point of it, yet this is all obviously intended to highlight what a stunner she really is. How very Mills&Boon.

Both books were highly disappointing. Their mere existence proves that there is demand for derivative, trite books to satisfy lonely housewives who dream of manly lustful vampires with mesmorising eyes and alpha-male characteristics.

The question still stands. When will there be a quality piece of science-fiction or fantasy written by a female?

Inconsiderate Idiots

While lying on bed this morning I noticed a silver Kia cark parked outside the driveway to my house. There's an English language school next door and I though that the car might belong to someone dropping off one of the kids. However, after a half hour, the car was still there.

I got really annoyed. It would have been obvious to a blind person that they were parking in someone's driveway. This ignorant person was there for at least several hours. I rang Dublin City Council parking office and reported the car. Unfortunately the owner returned before DCC could take any action.

Do people not think before parking? They had blocked in 4 cars in our driveway, belonging to the different flats. What if there had been an emergency and someone needed their car? This person removed that option for 4 different people in one go.

Shame on you, owner of car registration 06 D 9626 (Silver Kia).

Country of the Grand - Gerald Donovan

I was pleased to receive another advance reading copy from Early Reviewers Group at LibraryThing and I especially looked forward to this collection of Irish short stories. The blurb described it as a collection of short stories about modern Ireland. As any Irish person will tell you, Ireland has changed beyond recognition in the last 10 years, and I hoped that this collection of stories would attempt to encapsulate what currently is Ireland.

I was a little disillusioned to read that the author lives in New York, and this feeling was compounded as I read the book. These are not a collection of stories of modern Ireland. They could belong to any era in any country. They are a set of stories dealing with loss, betrayal, aging and confusion. I didn't even find them particularly captivating or illuminating. We have a man who overhears his friends discussing his wife's infidelity in a changing room, a solicitor trying to recapture his youth and a widow dealing with her late husband's hidden life.

It appears that the author is drawing on his own experience and feelings, but never finds a way to move from these emotions or indeed deal with them. It's a pity that these aren't a collection of stories more relevant to modern Ireland, and it's a greater pity that they're not particularly good.